


Self Selection

by Metal_Chocobo



Category: Stick It (2006)
Genre: Crushes, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-13
Updated: 2019-01-13
Packaged: 2019-10-09 03:04:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,439
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17398802
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Metal_Chocobo/pseuds/Metal_Chocobo
Summary: Wei Wei is hopelessly into Mina.





	Self Selection

Wei Wei had a problem. Like, it had been a problem for a while now, but hadn’t become a real issue until Vick paired her up with Mina for tumbling. Previously she had it under control, but now that Wei Wei was touching Mina and pressed into her on the regular it was out of control. Specifically, Wei Wei couldn’t stop sniffing her.

It was weird. It was super weird and she knew it, but she couldn’t stop. Half the time Mina didn’t even smell that great because they were both sweaty and gross from doing flips and handstands for hours on end—and if you could avoid the scent of human sweat intermingled with pam and unwashed gym mats, do it at all cost—but whenever Wei Wei got hit in the face with her ponytail or a flailing limb she found herself taking a big whiff.

She didn’t know how the others hadn’t noticed yet. Mina herself wasn’t the most observant girl at the gym, but even she seemed to have picked up that something was off with her. At least, Wei Wei assumed that’s why Mina gave her cough syrup with a bow on the packaging the other day and told her it was for her allergies. It showed that Mina’s heart was in the right place. She was too good of a friend for Wei Wei to be creeping on her like this. She had to stop; she just didn’t know how.

“Are you sniffing me?” Mina asked.

Wei Wei froze and nearly dropped her friend. It was that damn habit rearing its ugly head again and with Mina’s hair literally smooshed into her face again she couldn’t help it. Mina turned to look at her and Wei Wei felt her stomach drop out.

“Wei Wei?”

“Nnn-maybe,” Wei Wei grumbled as her stupid tongue betrayed her. It couldn’t lie while Mina was giving her doe eyes. “…you smell different, that’s all.”

“That must be my new chapstick!” Mina squealed, beaming at Wei Wei. “It’s mango-passion fruit. Do you want to try it?”

“Sure?” Wei Wei shrugged. Mostly she was relieved Mina bought her poor excuse.

Mina leaned in and kissed her. It wasn’t a long or passionate kiss—barely more than a brief brushing of their lips—but it still short-circuited Wei Wei’s brain. She froze up and almost dropped Mina, wholly unable to react. This inactive state lasted long enough for Vick to notice.

“Wei Wei, Mina, keep going! Finish the routine!” he shouted, clapping his hands as well in an attempt to get their attention.

Wei Wei visibly shook and pushed Mina away. The momentum quickly turned into three cartwheels and Mina continued as if nothing happened. However, Wei Wei remained affected and her timing was off through the rest of the routine. Vick’s shouting did not seem to have the corrective effect he wanted, so by the time they finished he ordered them off the mats and to the locker room for a quick change before running laps. After all, if they couldn’t improve their routine, they could improve their endurance.

“Why did you kiss me?” Wei Wei asked. She resolutely stared down at her hoodie, trying to decide if she wanted to bother putting it on before her run. She wouldn’t need it beyond the first few minutes, but she didn’t want to be cold in the slightest. Worry about this minor dilemma also meant she didn’t have to look at Mina, which also meant avoiding another brain meltdown in less than ten minutes if she caught her mid change. Even Mina would notice that.

“You wanted to try my new chapstick,” Mina said nonchalantly. Wei Wei shot her an incredulous look. Mina grinned and shrugged. “It was in my locker when you said yes. Should I have made you wait?”

“That’s what most people would have done.”

“Oh. Well, you can try it straight now.” Mina offered her the stick. “If you want.”

Wei Wei took the lip balm and applied a light layer to her lips. It tasted nothing like the kiss, which, if she was being honest with herself, was noticeably sweeter than the salve on her lips. She tossed the stick back to Mina and shut her locker.

“Let’s go for that run.”

* * *

Two weeks passed and other than their now joint ownership of the lip balm, there wasn’t another mention of Wei Wei’s massive fumble on the tumble mat. Indeed, it was like their relationship had been set back to its prior state, though that seemed to always happen whenever Wei Wei had been exceptionally weird. Nothing ever fazed Mina. Eventually they managed to perfect their routine despite Wei Wei’s continued secret hair sniffing.

In fact, the routine went so well during an in house competition that Vick wanted to send them to a skills trial as their gym’s representatives. Neither girl had expected the routine to impress him, especially considering how much of a mess it had been not that long ago. To celebrate their unexpected victory Wei Wei and Mina decided to stay up late watching movies and veer slightly off their prescribed diet. They couldn’t go too far off it of course; otherwise it would be obvious during their next practice that they had cheated. Still, there was enough wiggle room for a little fun.

That evening Wei Wei had Mina pressed into her side as they sat on the overstuffed couch in Mina’s basement. She was having some issues breathing at the moment due to Mina’s presence, but that was entirely due the fact Mina had just shoved a pair of Twizzlers in Wei Wei’s nostrils rather than any anxiety. Wei Wei gasped and batted the candy away from her nose while the other girl laughed hysterically. One Twizzler landed on her lap and the other hit the floor.

“Very funny, Mina,” Wei Wei groused. She should have expected this as Mina adored physical comedy—seriously, she was the only person Wei Wei had ever met that actually enjoyed clowns—and often pulled this sort of stunt. She could probably fed her off entirely, but she’d rather deal with candy up her nose than Mina pouting.

“It really is,” Mina agreed when her shrieking had finally subsided into a gentle giggle. She picked up the Twizzler that had landed on Wei Wei’s lap and bit into it.

“Seriously? Gross Mina, you just shoved that in my nose!” Wei Wei was more alarmed about the fact she found watching Mina eating that stick of nose licorice arousing than Mina’s actual actions.

“I don’t taste any boogers.”

“I’m going to pretend you didn’t just say that.”

As gross as she found some of Mina’s actions, she still let her cuddle into her side as the night progressed. Mina had never been able pull an all nighter and usually passed out around midnight, which meant she always woke up refreshed in the morning. However, before she succumbed to somnolence, Mina would be exhausted and in want of cuddles, which kicked her usual touchy-feeliness into overdrive. Wei Wei loved the cuddling. Not simply because she got to hold Mina, but because Mina always tried to be sneaky about the cuddling—like maybe Wei Wei wouldn’t be cool with it this time, so she had to cuddle without letting on that she was getting close. It was the most adorable thing Wei Wei had ever experienced.

“I’m not sleepy,” Mina insisted as her nose inched closer to Wei Wei’s collarbone.

“I never suggested you were,” Wei Wei said, though considering the fact they were now horizontal it was obvious.

For the past hour Mina had been trying to worm her way under Wei Wei even though she was on top. Wei Wei knew it was a heat seeking action and she would have happily wrapped herself around her, but whenever she moved more than vague fidgeting Mina whined. Even if she wasn’t allowed to move in the slightest, Wei Wei wouldn’t change her current position for the world.

“Fuzzy.”

“What?”

“You’re a fuzzy teddy bear, Wei Wei, I need you.” Mina frowned like her eyes weren’t quite focusing on her. She might not really be awake anymore; Mina had a habit of sleep talking. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” Wei Wei said, feeling tears welling up at the corners of her eyes. Why was she so gutless she could only say this sort of thing when Mina couldn’t really understand? She petted Mina’s hair and resisted the urge to kiss her forehead. “Go to sleep, Mina, we’ll finish the movie in the morning.”

“Okay,” Mina sighed and snuggled into Wei Wei’s chest, which sent dozens of butterflies fluttering through Wei Wei.

She sighed as well then grabbed the remote. With a click the TV was off leaving them in darkness. Wei Wei tossed the remote back on the coffee table then groped along the back of the couch until she caught hold of the edge of the blanket the Hoyts kept there. She draped it over them then laid her head against a couch cushion and tried to relax. Mina’s breathe breezed against her cheek, making all the tight muscles in her neck and shoulders naturally relax. Typical. Of course Mina had that effect on her. That was her final coherent thought before Wei Wei fell asleep as well.

* * *

“To the library!” Joanne announced as if she were the main character in an old timey comic. Hayley snorted and met Wei Wei’s eyes in amusement, but didn’t say anything biting. Probably because the others were totally into the suggestion.

“This way your chariot awaits,” Poot said, bowing deeply to Joanne as he gestured toward his wagon. “M’lady.”

Joanne practically swooned at Poot’s actions, while Hayley gagged behind their back. Wei Wei giggled behind her hand and Frank groaned. However, Mina didn’t seem to notice and instead clapped her hands together.

“Yes! If we go to the library I won’t fail my history test,” Mina agreed.

“I don’t think it works quite like that, Mina,” Wei Wei said gently, “The library isn’t a cure-all on its own; we still have to study.”

“But I won’t fail if I study?”

“Not if we do it right. Don’t worry, I’ll help you.”

“Oh my god, how did I get stuck with you people?” Hayley groaned. “Come on, let’s just go.”

Frank and Poot slid into their usual seats upfront, while Hayley went for the middle of the backseat. Joanne considered the front, but there was a mountain of fast food wrappers up there, which placed her firmly in the back and left only one open seat. Wei Wei glanced at Mina. She hadn’t noticed the problem.

“Where are we supposed to sit?” Wei Wei asked. “There’s only one seat left.”

“You get in and I’ll sit in your lap,” Mina proposed.

“You’d crush me!”

“Then you sit in mine.” Mina slipped into the last open seat and patted her lap. “You won’t crush me, Wei Wei.”

Wei Wei glanced around frantically. She wasn’t certain if this was a good idea. What if she did something stupid in Mina’s lap? Or what if they got pulled over by the cops.

“Wei Wei, just get your ass in the car,” Hayley ordered. Wei Wei did as she was told.

With a bit of fumbling they got the seatbelt over both girls and the crew was off to the library. Wei Wei didn’t really remember the ride or the study session afterward. However, they must have gone well because Mina not only passed the test, but earned a solid C that had her calling Wei Wei to shout about it when she got her exam back.

Wei Wei must have been absolutely stunning in that final study session that she couldn’t remember. Or maybe, as Haley pointed out during practice that evening, it had something to do with the fact Wei Wei had been putting off her own homework to help Mina study before practice every evening for the past month.

“Honestly, Wei Wei, you’d think with the amount of effort you put in Mina could have done better than a C,” Hayley snarked. “Surely it should have been at least a C+.”

She really hadn’t meant to kick Hayley in the face during a dismount that evening, but she didn’t feel that guilty about it. Especially when Hayley gave her a surprised nod of respect afterward. Mina spent the rest of practice worrying about whether or not she might have broken a toe on Hayley’s hard head. It ended up being a super satisfactory night.

* * *

It was a foregone conclusion since Joanne and Poot got together that they would be attending prom. Since it was their senior year and due to the transitive powers of friendship it had also been a given that the rest of the group would attend prom as well, despite the many vocal complaints on Hayley’s part. Of course Wei Wei had put time and effort into obtaining a dress, tickets, and helped Joanne plan out the night’s schedule with military precision, but she hadn’t thought about going with anyone in particular. She had always assumed that they were going as a group—at least, she did until the group arrived at Joanne’s house on the night of prom.

“Who is pairing up with who for these photos?” Joanne demanded, which stunned Wei Wei into silence. “I mean, it’s obvious that Poot and I will be together, but what about the rest of you? Hayley, you’re in a suit. Does that mean you’re going with Mina or Wei Wei or is Tricia meeting us at prom?”

“I’m going with Frank,” Hayley said, jerking a thumb at him. Surprise must have been clearly written across most of her friends’ faces because Hayley rolled her eyes and tossed her mane over a shoulder. “What? It’s not like I’m going to call up Tricia and demand she cross state lines to attend a stupid high school dance. She’s a junior in college and would dump my ass if I even thought about asking her to skip a weekend’s worth of studying two weeks before finals.”

“I’m the stress free option,” Frank explained. “It’s cool.”

“Besides, Mina and Wei Wei were already going together anyway,” Hayley added.

“No, we’re not!” Wei Wei squeaked. “I mean, we’re going as a group, specifically not-dates. Who decided I’m Mina’s date?”

“I thought you did,” Frank said.

“You two are always a pair,” Poot agreed. “I guess we just assumed. Sorry, bra.”

“Where did you even get that idea?” Wei Wei demanded. She could hear herself getting hysterical, and that was making her panic even more. If she was Mina’s date, then they might think she wanted to be Mina’s date and if they thought she wanted to be Mina’s date, they’d figure out she liked Mina. Like, like-liked her. Then Mina would know she like-liked her and everything would be ruined.

“When you always self select to be Mina’s partner for everything we eventually assumed you’ll be Mina’s partner for everything,” Hayley said. She lightly punched Wei Wei in the shoulder. “Chill out, Wei Wei, if you’re bothered by it that much I can go with you instead.”

“I thought we were going to prom together,” Mina said, looking earnestly at Wei Wei.

“You did?” Wei Wei asked.

“That’s why I got us matching headbands!”

“Oh, okay then.” Wei Wei nodded and tried not to smile too widely. “I guess Mina and I are going to prom. Together.”

The dance itself was shockingly enough a total delight. Sure, Frank and Hayley disappeared almost immediately with a dozen unopened packages of hotdogs. That was a bummer, but it was better than getting roped into whatever prank they had planned. Plus it turned out Wei Wei and Mina didn’t need them as a Joanne buffer after all because she was too busy recreating all the cliché high school dance experiences with Poot. That left Wei Wei and Mina essentially on their own. So they spent most of the night dancing in the completely redecorated school gym or else leaning against one of the concrete walls chatting and laughing as they snacked on treats from the buffet table.

They mostly stuck to the fast paced vigorous dances because both girls liked to move. Also, Wei Wei felt less self-conscious dancing with Mina under those circumstances. However, by the end of the night they had both ingested several cups of punch, an untold amount of sugar, and were not ready for the night to end, even though the DJ had announced it was time for the final dance. Wei Wei was overly warm, couldn’t stop giggling, her teeth felt fuzzy, her head was buzzing, and the last song of the night was some slow 80s power ballad, but she still held out her hand to Mina.

“Do you want to dance?” Wei Wei asked.

Mina beamed at her and took it. That surprised Wei Wei, though it shouldn’t have. Mina never left her hanging, not even in situations where she should have. Like now. 

Wei Wei felt a chill run up her spine as they stumbled back onto the dance floor. Despite years of coordination practice she still found herself tripping over her feet. When she started to fall a pair of hands caught her around the waist and suddenly Wei Wei’s face was in Mina’s chest. She quickly tilted her head upward, but couldn’t bring herself to pull away entirely. Mina didn’t let go and they soon found themselves loosely hugging as they swayed in a circle on the dance floor.

“I’ve dreamed of this,” Mina sighed.

“You have?” Wei Wei asked.

“Mmm Hmm.” Mina nodded. “You’re my favorite person in the world, Wei Wei, of course I wanted to go to prom with you. I like you.”

“Well, I like-like you,” Wei Wei mumbled into Mina’s shoulder. Mina must have heard her because her arms tightened around her.

“Really? Because while I said I like you, I really like-like you!”

“You mean it?” Wei Wei asked, pushing back far enough to look at Mina’s face. Of course she was serious.

“Yes!” Mina laughed excitedly as the final song of the night ended. The DJ started speaking into his mic telling everyone to leave, but they ignored him in favor of their conversation. “Ooo, are we dating now? Do we like… hold hands now?”

“If you want.”

“I want anything you want.”

Wei Wei interlocked their fingers and they held hands all the way back to the limo. The other four assembled in short order and didn’t seem to notice anything different about Wei Wei and Mina even though they were both bubbling over with excitement. Unfortunately, while the others had permission to do whatever they wanted that night, Wei Wei was expected home immediately after they left the dance.

When the limo pulled up at her house Wei Wei unbuckled her seatbelt with a groan. She didn’t want to leave the party or Mina, but she wasn’t sad with how the night had turned out. Too many good things had happened to her to ever feel disappointed with tonight. 

Just before she got out of the vehicle she felt a hand on her shoulder. When she turned around Mina launched herself at her with enough force to knock them both into a window with a loud thud. It was a far more forceful kiss from Mina than Wei Wei had ever expected—not that she had ever expected Mina to kiss her and actually mean it—but utterly suited her personality. When it finally ended both girls were panting heavily.

“Well that was a little more PDA than we needed,” Joanne drawled.

“Like you and Poot aren’t worse,” Frank retorted.

“That’s my girlfriend,” Mina announced proudly.

“We know,” Hayley said flatly.

“Call me?” Wei Wei asked.

“Not if you call me first,” Mina grinned.

Wei Wei laughed because that was such a Mina thing to say. Wei Wei kissed her gently and then briefly rubbed their noses together before she got out of the limo. She could see her father’s silhouette in the open front door, but Wei Wei stood on the curb and waved at the limo until it turned a corner and disappeared out of sight. She couldn’t see it, but she knew Mina had been waving at her the whole time as well. As she walked up the drive she concluded that this was the best night of her life; Wei Wei had a feeling things were only going to get better.


End file.
